Category: Self Care

I am thrilled to introduce you to Marissa Kellner, a sweet friend of mine who I met on Instagram a year and a half ago while I was still pregnant with Izzy! Marissa is talented on so many levels: she is a home school mama, is a part-time nurse in the NICU/Maternity Unit, and runs her own business (The DellaRose Boutique) making felt wands and felt flower headbands for little girls. A couple of my favorite things about Marissa is her enthusiasm about being a mama maker, and her ability to balance it all. It’s something I admire! Today she is sharing her story about how she started her business, where her inspiration comes from, and how she balances her creative outlet with the many hats she wears.

One thing on your bucket list: “Well I have a ton, but one of them that I plan to do next year is hike a 14er (a.k.a. 14,000 ft. mountain) next year.”

Movie you wish you could live out: “Hands down, Pride and Prejudice! It’s my favorite love story and I’m a total Jane Austen girl. Her novels are my jam – I’ve read them all multiple times. Oh also, The Sound of Music because I just believe in singing randomly and if it was socially acceptable, I would live like I was in a musical.”

Are you a coffee or tea person: “Both! I’m a self-proclaimed coffee snob. I would rather have no coffee than bad coffee. But I also love hot tea on occasion.”

Thank you Marissa for being a part of our Real-Girls: Mothers community! Finding magic in the midst of motherhood + marriage is something we are all doing, together. Motherhood is not easy for every mama, and goodness knows it takes time to adjust into that new role!

PS: Make sure you scroll to the bottom of this post to find out how to enter our GIVEAWAY for a free felt hair bloom of your choice!

Turning 30 won’t happen until April 2019, but I actually am really looking forward to this new decade of my life. My 20s were full of crazy and fun adventures but also hold a lot of heartbreak and bittersweet memories. I spent 2/3 of my 20s getting my college degrees, dating the best and the worst types of guys, getting tattoos, making friendships and losing friendships, and worked a total of 9 different jobs (usually 2-3 jobs at a time). I also moved to a different state, bought my first car and ran her to the ground, bought a second car, moved back to California, got married, and had a baby. You guys, I have memories of riding the bus to middle school thinking that high school seemed so far away. And then again in high school, I couldn’t even imagine being in college…I thought 25 was “old” and all I wanted in the world was to get my belly button pierced. My how things have changed since then! It’s so weird to look back on those years and realize how much time and life has gone by. Continue reading →

This week’s Featured Real-Girl’s Essay is written by Meagan Thompson, a sweet friend of mine who I finally met in person 2 years ago after finding her through We Are Beautiful‘s Instagram page a while back. Meagan is probably the most genuine person I’ve met – five minutes into a conversation with her, and you’ll know her passionate love for the Lord, her obsession with Disneyland, and a steadfast love for cultivating community. Also, she has great hair. It fills me with such joy to call her my sister friend! Today she is sharing a story many of us can relate to – how to pull yourself out of the pit, and embrace the person God has called you to be.

One thing on your bucket list? “Pack up a van with my hubby and my pooch and road trip up the west coast visiting every state/national park. I want to see ALL of it!!”

Favorite thing to cook? “Nothing! I am a terrible cook, but God knew I would need a stud chef in my life and sent me Seth Thomson to feed me!”

Favorite smell? “There used to be a ride at California Adventure in Disneyland called Soarin’ Over California (now Soarin’ Around the World). It made you feel like you were flying over different parts of California and sprayed scents that coincided with the different landscapes. The smell over the California orange fields knocked my socks off – I wish they would bottle that smell up and sell it. I would totally buy it!”

Thank you Meagan for being a part of our Real-Girls: Wives community! Finding magic in the midst of motherhood + marriage is something we are all doing, together. Check out Meagan’s encouraging story below, and see how she cultivated community after moving to a new city!

When I was in high school, my best friend and I would hangout on New Years Eve and write out what we wanted to do differently in the coming year. We would make a bullet list on a note card, then seal it in an envelope until the next NYE only to open it and reflect on what we had written as goals and aspirations from the previous year. Then we would add another note card to the envelope on that NYE, and the cycle would continue ❤ We did that for years! And it was so amusing to open up that envelope each year and reflect on what I had written the previous year, checking off whether or not I lived up to my resolutions.

Last year, I thought nothing could top 2016 – after all, I planned a colorful and dreamy bohemian wedding, honeymooned to Ireland, got my masters degree, visited New York for the first time, AND we found out we were going to have a baby. So many of my dreams and ambitions were checked off! 2017 was a more mellow year for us, but one of the most amazing blessings that came out of it was our beautiful baby girl!! Elizabeth June was born on July 7th, and the rest of the year after that we’ve spent adjusting to being a family of three (say whaaat!) – which meant adjusting our marriage and relationship around now being “mom and dad.” It hasn’t been easy, but it’s the best hard thing I’ve ever done 🙂

Since having our daughter this past July (how has it already been 3 months?!), I’ve made a huge attempt to widen my circle of girlfriends by putting myself out there using the tinder-for-moms app: Peanut. I never got a chance (thank goodness LOL) to use any dating apps or websites, so the idea of meeting someone online, chatting it up, and making a date to meet for the first time was heavily new (and a bit scary) to me. I kept reading these articles about “building your tribe” and how hangin’ with like-minded mamas is the key to sanity in the midst of motherhood, but I didn’t really know where to start…it’s not like you can just hop over to a bar grab a drink and start mingling with other moms (but they really should invent one of those omg…like a mommies + mimosas bar. But with childcare). So after hearing about this mommy dating app, I thought what the heck I’m on maternity leave and stuck inside most of the day, so I might as well give it a shot. Continue reading →

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Hello & Welcome!

I'm Becca, a Marriage + Motherhood lifestyle blogger who loves Jesus, living colorfully, and being in the kitchen. The Mini Apartment Blog exists to inspire and encourage women who are entering the seasons of Marriage + Motherhood to live vibrantly, stay happy, and stay sane, as we all learn how to find magic in everyday moments.

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